Tea Auctions proved to be a Fatal Game

Less than a year after the multi-crore tax evasion scam involving buyers, the tea industry finds itself grappling with another scandal.

This time it involves three tea gardens, a warehouse-keeper and four brokers.

Described as unprecedented in the history of tea industry, transaction worth several lakhs (exact amount yet to be determined) has been made at Siliguri Tea Auction Centre in lieu of tea, which did not exist at all.

The matter came to light early this month when the brokers could not deliver the produce to buyers even after payments were made. Not only this, the buyers who had their goods delivered, found that the tea they finally got was far inferior than what was offered as samples at the auction.

Sources said the malpractice was confirmed when the Siliguri Tea Traders’ Association’s warehouse committee raided Bijoynagar Tea Company’s Siliguri Tea Warehouse.

“The raid revealed that the warehouse did not have the tea for which it had provided the Arrival and Weighment Report (AWR) to the brokers. Also, the tea samples, on the basis of which bidding took place, were not from the tea lots that were supplied to the buyers,” a tea trader said.

According to auction rules, tea can be put up for auction only after the entire lot has reached the warehouses. On receiving the AWR, the broker is expected to inspect the produce and samples before entering them in his catalogue for bidding.

The matter was immediately taken up with the Siliguri Tea Auction Committee, which issued showcause notices (Reference no. C/3/3/2005/516) to the four brokers of the deal — Parkon India Pvt. Ltd, Care Tea Pvt. Ltd, Associated Brokers and Tea Champagne — and the warehouse-keeper. Incidentally, the three gardens, Bijoynagar, Mogulkata and Subashini, from where the samples came, are all part of the Bijoynagar Tea Company group.

The auction committee took the matter up with Tea Board. “Stern measures will be taken if any violation of the law is proven,” said A. Roy Choudhury, deputy director of Tea Board, Siliguri.

The four brokers have agreed to pay up 30 per cent of the sales transaction to the buyers as compensation.

Source> The Telegraph